Decorative protective surfaces find many consumer applications. Household appliances, automotive interiors and paints, consumer electronic devices, such as laptops and hand held devices, are all examples where consumers prefer materials that deliver considerable protection from stains, scratches, wear and abrasion while retaining cosmetic and aesthetic appeal through the material's lifecycle. Low gloss matte surfaces are of particular interest to many consumers because of their aesthetic appeal.
Durable decorative laminates and films comprised of glass beads are broadly known. These low gloss constructions typically consist of exposed glass bead surfaces that impart high durability and decorative properties to the construction. Low friction properties of such constructions have also been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,265 (Ueda) discloses decorative abrasion resistant laminates that contain hard microspheres (glass or plastic) that are either exposed or surface coated with a thin polymer coating. Low friction properties of such constructions have also been disclosed.
Known methods for designing decorative materials comprised of glass beads include closely matching the refractive index of the individual components. It is also known that it is advantageous to select microspheres having a refractive index in a range that is close to that of commonly used polymer films, so as to minimize light reflected due to index mismatch. By reducing the overall front surface reflectance, a more true color of any underlying color layer can be realized when viewed through the glass bead layer. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,775 (LaPerre) discloses decorative articles comprising exposed glass bead surfaces, with glass beads having a refractive index in the range of about 1.5 to about 1.6, which is a refractive index range close to that of common polymers. Specifically, bead films and low coefficient of friction decorative bead films are known in the art, but bead films which are stain resistant to highly staining materials such as yellow mustard, blood, wine, etc., even at elevated temperature and humidity, that also exhibit low coefficient of friction, good abrasion resistance, and sufficient hardness have not been described previously.
There is a need for highly stain resistant bead films that have a low coefficient of friction, good abrasion resistance, and sufficient hardness. It would be further advantageous if such films were also thermoformable. It would be even more advantageous if such films exhibited resistance to organic solvents.